Iraqi forces have regained full control of the country's biggest oil refinery after heavy fighting with Sunni militants attempting to seize it, the authorities claim.
The retaking of the plant in Baiji, north of Baghdad, comes amid calls for the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al Maliki to quit as a condition of US help in driving back insurgents who have seized large swathes of the country.
The Baghdad government has requested America launch airstrikes against the ISIS extremists, whose lightning offensive in the north of the country, including the capture of the city of Mosul, saw the US-bankrolled military crumble.
The advance of the al Qaeda breakaway group has only been slowed by a regrouped army, Shia militias and other volunteers.
A member of the Iraqi security forces guards volunteer fighters in Baghdad Washington has not yet responded to the Iraqi request for drone strikes.
Officials say action is not imminent, partly because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground.
Another potential obstacle to US military involvement is Mr al Maliki himself, who has been blamed for alienating Iraq's Sunni minority, leading to sectarian rifts, and contributing to the current crisis.
Several leading figures in Congress from across the political divide have spoken out against the premier.
Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "The Maliki government, candidly, has got to go if you want any reconciliation."
David Petraeus has warned over the risks of the US providing air support Republican senator John McCain backed military support but urged Mr Obama to "make it make very clear to Maliki that his time is up".
Speaking on Sky News, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also warned: "Unless the government reaches out to other groups in Iraqi society, there's a clear risk that the country will be split."
And General David Petraeus, who led the US troop surge ahead of America pulling out of Iraq, says there should not even be air support without major change in Baghdad.
The former CIA chief warned Washington risked becoming an "air force for Shiite militias", if it agreed to the request for support.
ISIS militants claim to have captured an airbase in Tal Afar 
However, President Barack Obama has indicated he does not need authorisation from Congress to take any steps over action in Iraq.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr al Maliki said the country's leaders felt "abandoned", comparing the situation to the genocide in Rwanda, and "the Nazi occupation of Europe".
He added: "Our focus needs to be on urgent action, air support, logistic support, counter-intelligence support, to defeat these terrorists who are posing a real danger to the stability of Iraq and to the whole region."
He insisted Mr al Maliki's administration was inclusive, with Sunni Muslims represented in key roles.
But so far his government has relied almost entirely on his fellow Shias for support, with officials denouncing Sunni political leaders as traitors.
The US deliberations on military action came amid fierce fighting for the oil refinery in Baiji.
There had been reports the insurgents at one point appeared to control most of the site, although security officials denied the compound has fallen.
But Mr al Malaki's security spokesman said: "The security forces are in full control of the Baiji refinery."
Its capture would not only have threatened power supplies, but would also give ISIS access to a large supply of fuel to add to the weaponry seized in Mosul and across the north.
ISIS also claims to have captured an airbase in Tal Afar, although this cannot be verified.
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